TheBaaderMeinhofComplex Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon.

Deals. Ahead of the Toronto film festival, distributors are firming up their release schedules for the next few weeks, which means acquisitions a-plenty are being announced. Our friends at indieWIRE have posted details in the last seven days about Police, Adjective (IFC, release next year, after playing at the Toronto and New York film festivals); Trucker (Monterey Media, October 9); Black Dynamite (Apparition, October 16); and Vincere (IFC, no release date yet, will also play at the Toronto and New York fests).

Online / On-Demand Viewing. Starting this week, Scott Hamilton Kennedy's Our Town will be available at iTunes. Kennedy is a skilled documentary filmmaker whose most recent work, The Garden, was nominated for an Academy Award and was recently released on DVD and online. So this is a great time to catch up with Mr. Kennedy. Our Town follows a high school in Compton, California that hasn't staged a play in more than 20 years. Then they decide to put on their version of the venerable Thornton Wilder classic.

Looking ahead to next week, Tickling Leo, described as a family drama about the modern-day aftermath of the Holocaust, will open in theaters on September 4, and will simultaneously be available on Amazon VOD. More and more I'm getting accustomed to this idea of simultaneous release online and in theaters, and more and more I like the increased options for viewing, especially as head into the busy fall season (see more comments on this subject below).

Better than Basterds? Indie Weekend Box Office, after the jump.

Cinematical is proud to premiere the brand spankin' new poster and green band trailer for The Baader Meinhof Complex, nominated this year for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Directed by Uli Edel, the film features a cast of European all-stars, and looks to be a thriller that has a good shot at transcending potential linguistic barriers -- starting with the title! (Click image below to view full version of the poster, which was created by Shepard Fairey's Studio Number One)

Gallery: 'The Baader Meinhof Complex' Poster

From the official synopsis: "Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past ... The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz)."

As I noted when it was acquired for distribution by Vitagraph Films, The Baader Meinhof Complex received a mixed critical reception when it opened in the UK last fall. Still, the reviews that were positive were extremely positive, the trailer looks crazy good, and, with its references to Germany's Nazi past, even ties in (albeit indirectly) to Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Inglourious Basterds.

Watch the Green Band Trailer Premiere of The Baader Meinhof Complex after the jump!

In this week's edition of Indie Roundup, the headline says it all.

Deals. Nominated this year for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category, Uli Edel's The Baader-Meinhof Complex has been acquired for US theatrical distribution by Vitagraph Films, according to indieWIRE. Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, and Bruno Ganz star in a film that "dramatizes the history of the real-life West German terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF), which rose to violent action against the German political status quo in the late 1960s." Current plans are for a platform release in August, with 18 of the top 20 markets targeted. When the film opened in the UK last fall, David Hudson compiled the mixed critical reaction at GreenCine Daily. We've embedded the action-packed trailer below.

Lance Daly's Kisses, described as an Irish "romantic coming-of-age film," will see release later this year, courtesy of Oscilloscope Releasing, per indieWIRE. Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry star as "two kids who run away from their abusive homes and set off to Dublin," seeking a better life. HollywoodChicago.com called it "surprisingly genuine and sweet ... with two of the best child performances that have come out of any country in a long time."

Box Office. Space was the place last weekend, as the IMAX re-release of Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3-D remained atop the indie charts, according to Box Office Mojo, grossing $9,763 per screen at four theaters. Debuting indie pics posted respectable per-screen results: Jean-Pierre Melville's 1961 drama Leon Morin, Priest, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo ($9,515); "A Chorus Line" doc Every Little Step ($8,563); John Crowley's drama Is Anybody There?, starring Michael Caine as a retired magician ($7,702); and Eran Riklis' Israeli drama Lemon Tree ($7,301).

After the jump: the Independent Film Festival of Boston gets underway.